Pros

Easy to maintain, cheap parts, very easy to modify, excellent cargo space, a lot of aftermarket exterior accessories available

Cons

high miles

45

Awesome —
I love this car. I got this as my first car and I have loved it. It is great in the snow and awesome off road. I have done some major repairs to the car but it wasn't anything i couldn't do myself. This is probably the best car i will ever own. I will own Subarus forever thanks to this car. I love it

Pros

has been a good car until now

Cons

would prefer a forester

25

Good Car Until Engine Light Goes On —
Good handling and power, would like a roof rack and trailer hitch. Has serious problems since the engine light went on and can't afford dealer rates on repairs. Haynes manual is in complete should at least describe the use of every part under the hood. Instead it only describes parts that it describes how to repair. I'm very disappointed with the manual. Also very disappointed with the policy of Subaru support putting a time limit on the amount of time you can use their manual.

Pros

My first car that I have owned (other than my porsche) in 15 years, and I wish I would have bought one years ago.

Cons

The people I bought it from did not take care of it.

25

Most Reliable And Economical Car On The Market, In My Opinion —
Probably one of the simplest of vehicles to maintain, I have put 6,000 miles on it since rebuilding the engine and I have not had any issues with it. I would say this is one of the most reliable and economical vehicles anyone could buy.

Pros

INTERFERENCE ENGINE!

Cons

i've learned alot because of this car. at the time it was a bad thing but now its a good thing.

145

Bad Ass In The Winter! —
DONT LET THE TIMING BELT SNAP! bent valves suck. the boxer DOHC engine
sucks. to get to the head bolts u ahve to take the cams out. if u mix up the cam
caps you'll seize the motor (i've done that once)

Pros

Cheap to drive reliable great first and last car

Cons

I dont hate anything about this car except the dent in the passenger door.

75

I Love My Subaru Legacy Gt —
This car is my life. It has been very reliable 217xxx and counting not many repairs have been needed but only about 1000 in repairs at its age is great. Gas mileage is ok insurance is cheap. Fun to drive loves the snow, rain or whatever you throw down its ready to power down.

Pros

it's a Subaru

Cons

nothing

35

Subaru's Rock! —
i love this car but wish it had better lumbar support in the drivers seat
other then that i have had no problems with the car. fuel economy is good
considering that it is a boxer engine and is 13 years old.

Pros

AWD is really good in the winter.

Cons

Wagons suck.

35

Ehhhh —
Yea, it's a car. You can't really ask for more. If it gets you from point A to point B then you really shouldnt complain. I did not wish to have this car, but It sure as hell gets me where I need to go.

Pros

twin turrbo, AWD, manual, comon what not to love

Cons

i cant think of any

35

Great Car For My Wife. —
I love this car. Quick fun and can take alot of beatings. At the same time perfect car for family use. lots of room and comfprtable. perfect car for the wife and her errands. Plus its a subie whats not to love

Pros

Cheep, and a solid car.

Cons

Slow

35

Good Safe Car To Get You From Point A To Point B Without Incident. —
Love it, cheap to buy, cheap to run, and gets me ANYWERE. whats not to
love? i mean, a 2.5gt would be nice, but the L is cheeper. I hapten to have
the auto, so it is quite slow, but with a five speed and the 2.2 engine it
can be quite sporty while getting 28 mpg.

Pros

Quality, power, room and all weather abilities

Cons

Expensive to fix if something breaks. If you're tall, you'll find, that the adjustment for distance at least for the drivers seat runs out and you cannot get it as far as you'd like. Also, I'm not quite friends with the behaviour of the automatic gearbox.

95

Review Of A Jdm Twinturbo Legacy '98 (bh5) —
Performance:
So.. this is what happens, when some
blokes from Subaru drink a bit too much sake one
night and decide to swap in some STi class parts into
a family wagon just for the heck of it? Well, I can tell
you, that the combination is very nice. The weight to
power ratio is equal to an STi so when pushed, this
wagon hauls ass despite of its size. There is
something of an issue regarding the operation of
these TwinTurbo's, namely the oh so famous "Valley
of Death", but that is more of an small nuisance
rather than a really crippling thing. When driving
normally, you almost never get past the 3000rpm
mark which is below the VoD. This is due to very
turbo-diesel'ish torque characteristics and the
automatic transmissions eagerness to shift upwards
very early. The first turbo comes into play as early as
1500rpm and therefore you have over 200nm to play
with as low as 2000rpm. Going beyond the VoD to
the high side of 4000rpm, the second turbo comes
into play and the two turbos work in parallel mode.
It pulls nicely and cleanly all the way to the red line.
There is no old fashioned turbo-lag and the feeling
of being shoved to the back with a two by four, but
there is a lot of power and you can see this by having
a eye on the speedometer! The trusty Subaru
trademark AWD is present at all times meaning, that
the car goes forward, in any weather, just in the
direction that you want it to go. Be wary of the dual
nature of the car though. Subaru's are prone to first
understeer, but careless, or intentional, use of the
excess power turns it into very tail-happy! This can
be good or bad, depending on the situation. The
Bilsten engineered suspension works very well. It is a
bit soft at first but then firms up quickly. In other
words, on everyday roads and situations, it eats up
bumps and such veyr smoothly but then when going
faster in corners, it is firm enough that the body
movements are kept in check.
Build Quality:
The standard Subaru deal here; after a
decade, everything works still with out an issue,
there are no extra creaks or other noises. Very solid
build for which the Subaru's are known for.
Appearance:
The car isn't striking to the eye. More
like it is shaped to blend in but with a few
characteristic differences. There are of course the
Subaru trade marked frameless windows, but other
than that, the car doesn't really stand out. Even the
hood scoop used to pull some fresh cool air to the
intercooler is very small. All in all, very stealthy. The
interior is roomy with well chosen materials. You can
get full blown leather interior if you wish, but that is
an optional extra. Mine has the half-leather interior.
The seats are modelled well and offer a fair bit of
side-ways support also. You can get electric dual
sunroofs, which would light up the interior nicely.
Unfortunately, mine lacks those as well. There is the
Momo leather steering well with leather also in the
gear-lever and parking break handle. Nice touches.
The plastic wood-imitation on the dash and center
console though really look tacky and shouldn't be
there. Perhaps some of that semi-carbon fiber
looking material that is around the instrument panel
would've worked well instead. The car comes
equipped with McIntosh stereo with 6 speakers +
subwoofer and separate amplifier. It has cassette as
well as CD players. Take note though, that this being
Japanese spec, the radio only covers frequencies
from 76.0 to 90.0 MHz and therefore you'll probably
need to either swap the unit or get a frequency
converter to lsiten to radio in your own country. The
entry level accessories list is very complete and
doesn't leave you wanting much.
Cost of Ownership:
Well, this being the top-of-the-
line model, it isn't cheap. However, due to the
taxation scheme in Japan, if you're importing one of
these, you can get them for practically peanuts. So
buying a used second-hand TwinTurbo Legacy is not
as expensive as you'd think. Of course, you then
need to be prepared for all of the additional fees
(shipping, taxes etc). Regarding the owing one of
these, they aren't that expensive. There hardly is
anything to fix as long as you keep up with regular
maintenance schedule. The engine being only 2 liter
in displacement means fair insurance costs as well.
The car isn't very fuel hungry either if you manage to
keep that speed demon in check and drive nicely. If
you're doing in highway at fair speed, you're likely to
be in the first turbo range and you can get to under
10 liters / 100km which is not bad at all. Of course,
these can gulp easily more than twice that on a
track..
Fun Factor:
The car is fun to drive certainly. The
engine characteristics and suspension work well
together. Not to mention the very stealthy
appearance means you can have some fun teasing
out others at traffic lights ;)

Reviews From Other Years

So Far This Car Is A Pleasure To Drive.By Royce123

I just bought the car in march of 2015, so the driving experience is still a work in progress. There is a lot of electronics on board, so I'm still learning. I feel very much in control and safe while...
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Best Car For The Money That You Can BuyBy Jerseyboy_222

How can you go wrong with an all wheel drive car that is always at the top of the charts when it comes to safety and reliability for under $24,000?
Do you get all of the technological bells and whist...
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Comfortable Ride W/ Great Gas Milage + AwdBy MattSuppa

When I started researching fuel-efficient all wheel drive vehicles, the Subaru Legacy was at the top of the list. I live in the Northeast, and drive about 40 miles each way (mostly highway) to and fro...
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Everyone Needs To Own A Legacy!By ckear001

Since I live in the northeast, I wanted to get a vehicle reliable in the winter. I previously owned a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which I absolutely loved, but must say the Legacy is BETTER for winter drivin...
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Subaru 2.5 6 Speed Is A Good CarBy Melkoun1

i'm nineteen years old and got the car brand new. its my first stick and its hold up really good. i like the appearance but definitely want to do some little tweaks, the six speed is great, seats are...
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My Day Behind The WheelBy ArethaFlowers

I thought it was just like other midsized sedans. I found things easily enough before I drove it. I wasn't impressed with its "get up and go". I did both city and highway driving in the car. I have a ...
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True LegacyBy mdlgan

this is a great car good for a family of 4-5, the best all wheel drive system i've ever experienced. leg room is amazing a 6'2" adult can sit in the back seat with the front seat pushed all the way b...
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TrustworthyBy skiwallace

I'm glad there are still a few manual transmissions around. This car is pretty low maintenance, it doesn't scream for attention or need much. Handles well, good mileage, nice car. I like the bluetooth...
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Impressive SubaruBy scott_badger

This car is so quite riding down the highway, it is such a nice car. Most Subaru's are made for utility with all wheel drive and lack quality. Subaru really put thought and effort in the comfort of th...
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